"It's Never Too Late For God" by Dr. Kenneth Sullivan Jr. (11/16/2025)

It's Never Too Late: Finding Hope When All Seems Lost

Have you ever stood at the edge of impossibility? That moment when every door has slammed shut, every option exhausted, every prayer seemingly unanswered? Perhaps you're there right now—watching a situation deteriorate, feeling the weight of unanswered questions, wondering if change will ever come.

The story of Lazarus in John chapter 11 speaks directly into these desperate moments with a powerful truth: **what seems impossible to us is never impossible to God.**

When Love Allows Suffering

The account begins with a puzzling scenario. Lazarus, a dear friend of Jesus, falls gravely ill. His sisters, Mary and Martha, send urgent word to Jesus: "Lord, the one you love is sick." They had watched Jesus heal strangers and deliver people He'd never met. Surely He would rush to help someone He actually loved.

But Jesus doesn't come.

He stays where He is for two more days.

This is where many of us find ourselves confused and frustrated with God. We've invited Him into our lives. We've been faithful. We've watched Him work miracles for others. Yet when we call out in our moment of need, there's only silence and delay.

Here's the uncomfortable truth we must embrace: being a Christian doesn't exempt us from life's hardships. You can be born again and still lose your job. You can tithe faithfully and still face financial storms. You can pray without ceasing and still find yourself in the ICU. These challenges aren't signs of God's absence—they're often the very platform upon which He demonstrates His power.

The Purpose Behind the Pain

When Jesus finally receives the message about Lazarus, His response seems almost callous: "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

God sometimes orchestrates circumstances that seem impossible specifically so He can show up and receive glory from the outcome. Your trial isn't just about you—it's about what God wants to teach you, how He wants to grow you, and who He wants to reach through your testimony.

Sometimes God allows us to reach the end of ourselves so we finally learn to trust Him completely. He'll let us hit rock bottom so we discover He's the Rock at the bottom. He'll strip away our human solutions so we finally turn to divine intervention.

Prayer should never be our last resort—it should always be our first option. Mary and Martha tried everything within their power before sending for Jesus. How often do we exhaust every human remedy, call every friend, research every solution before we finally turn to God? By that time, we're exhausted and faithless. But if we went to God first, by the time we talked to others, we'd be sharing a testimony instead of a complaint.

James 5:14-16 reminds us: "Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well."

Prayer addresses every situation. It's the answer for heartache, the solution for pain, the path through trouble. In our sophisticated world, we've minimized prayer's importance, turning first to therapists, medications, and professional counseling. While none of these are wrong, prayer must remain central—because prayer can do what nothing else can.

The Agony of Waiting

By the time Jesus arrives, Lazarus has been dead for four days. Martha meets Him with words soaked in grief and perhaps accusation: "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."

We live in a culture of immediacy. We expect fast food, instant downloads, same-day delivery. We've become so unaccustomed to waiting that when God doesn't move immediately, we assume something is wrong.

But God is not a God you can hurry. He operates on a different timeline than ours. A delay doesn't mean denial. Just because your answer hasn't arrived doesn't mean it hasn't been shipped.

"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart."

While you're waiting, God is working. He's moving pieces behind the scenes, arranging circumstances, preparing hearts. Your job isn't to understand the delay—it's to trust through it.

Good Stories vs. Great Stories

Here's where the narrative takes a stunning turn. Jesus explains that He deliberately delayed so that something greater could happen. It would have been a good story for Jesus to heal a sick man. But it's a far greater story for Jesus to raise a dead man.

God isn't interested in good stories—He specializes in great ones.

We often have in our minds exactly how God should work things out. We think it would be good if we kept our job while those who opposed us lost theirs. God says, "No, I have something better—I'll let you lose your job, then promote you two levels higher at a better company, and make your enemies watch me bless you."

We think it would be good if God silenced our critics. God says, "No, I'm going to prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies and make them watch me favor you."

God gets glory out of situations that look irredeemable. When circumstances appear beyond repair, that's when God does His best work.

The Ultimate Declaration

Standing before Lazarus's tomb, Jesus makes one of the most profound statements in all of Scripture: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live."

This isn't just a promise about the future—it's a declaration about His identity. Jesus doesn't merely perform resurrections; He IS the resurrection. He embodies the power over death itself.

When Jesus calls "Lazarus, come forth!" the dead man emerges, still wrapped in grave clothes. Jesus commands, "Loose him and let him go."

This is the pattern of redemption: Jesus calls us forth from death to life, then commands others to help remove the grave clothes—the old habits, mindsets, and bondages—that still cling to us.

Never Too Late

The message thunders across the centuries into our present moment: It's never too late for Jesus.

There is no problem He cannot solve, no verdict He cannot overturn, no sickness He cannot cure, no bondage He cannot break, no valley He cannot raise, no prison from which He cannot deliver.

The worse your situation appears, the better He looks when He turns it around. God specializes in resurrecting dead things—dead dreams, dead relationships, dead hopes, dead futures.

Whatever you're facing today, however impossible it seems, however long you've waited, however many times you've been disappointed—it's not over. God is still writing your story, and He's planning for a great ending, not just a good one.

The question isn't whether God can turn it around. The question is: will you trust Him while you wait?